Greek Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto

A coworker sent me this recipe from Cooking Light and I thought it would be a good way to shake things up with what Randy tells us may be the last of the asparagus (sniff, sniff...). Definitely a winner!

Don't be afraid to add extra dill, lemon juice and asparagus, and keep your eye on the asparagus and shrimp so they don't get overcooked... the crunchy asparagus really makes the texture in this dish.

Rhubarb Crips

Sorry to for anyone that is sick of rhubarb crisps, but I can't find a good recipe anywhere and I am in need of one. I know we received one in our boxes a year or so ago... can someone please post one? Bonus points if it can be easily veganized!!!
THANK YOU!

STAR HOLLOW FARM NEWS

For the week preceding Saturday, May 30th 2009

General news & info

Hello all!

Produce: new this week are..

• Veggies: Baby beet greens, baby arugula, horseradish, garlic scapes, upland cress, baby zucchini with flowers.

• Herbs: Spearmint in bunches, micro basil.

• Sale: Parsnips, cabbage.

New look to store checkout pages: CSA member Phil has made over our 4 online store checkout pages, as we have had ongoing problems with people thinking they had placed orders but not actually completing them. I had text boxes explaining what to do, but experience would indicate many don't read the text, and Phil has experience with more visual pages, so he came up with what I feel is a real improvement. (Note that nothing about how the store works has changed, just the appearance and instructions!)

Please let us know if you have ideas for other improvements. (Ones that have come up over the years are an archive for old messages... which we're addressing starting this week by posting the messages in the blog, where they will be saved, and making it easier to change quantities in the store. At the present time we don't know how to make it easier. It's described clearly in several places how to do it.)

On the farm: I'm worn out. We had quite a planting marathon over the last two days. We planted another ½ acre of potatoes (making about 1.5 total) plus more onions, celeriac, more kale and collards, more radishes, cabbage, fennel, lettuce, tomatoes, arugula, dandelion greens and more. The weather was just right before the rain began this morning, and we made use of it!

Star Hollow CSA blog: Our new blog, designed and set up by CSA member Michele, is up and running at http://starhollowfarmcsa.blogspot.com/. Anyone can look and comment. If you want to post, please email Michele (smcasto@gmail.com) and she'll send you an invite.

Open-farm dates: Below are the dates we've set aside for our open-farm get-togethers. Those weekends are:

• July 4^th and 5^th

• August 1^st and 2^nd

• September 5^th and 6th

CSA-Specific News

Planned CSA produce for this week:

This week the plan is for the last asparagus to go in the CSA boxes this season (there may be more available a la carte next week), mixed bunched greens from the high tunnel, water cress, horseradish, Romaine lettuce, red scallions, an onion, and 2 honey crisp apples. Enjoy!

Adams Morgan CSA volunteers. Thanks to Heather and Tony and Sarah and Sean for their help handing out orders last weekend. Remember to get your name on the calendar if you haven't done so already. We're all covered up until the end of August!

Thanks for your support!

Randy, Chris and all at Star Hollow Farm

Pedal to Preserve, Saturday June 6

Attention farm, food, open-space and cycling enthusiasts! The Pedal to Preserve cycling event is sponsored by, and benefits, the Lancaster Farmland Trust, dedicated to preserving Lancaster's fertile farmland for farming and open space. Ride length options are 6, 20 or 51 miles on gently rolling terrain past some of the many preserved farms. My brother (lucky dog lives in Lancaster!) and I rode it last year on what I think was the hottest, humidest day EVER, and it was still a lovely ride. Pre-registration might be closed, so no free t-shirt (no loss, if they're as unattractive as they were last year), but you can show, pay and go the day of the event. Go to lancasterfarmlandtrust.org for details.

Hope to see some of you out there!

Rhubarb Chutney

I found a recipe to use as a starting point, varied it slightly by replacing the cardamom with cloves and the currants with dried cherries (thanks for the tip, Ruth). It was a homely chutney, but quite tasty. Last week I served it over chicken thighs, along with a parmesean cheese variation of Meg's lemon asparagus pasta. The recipe made enough chutney to have it again last night, and one of my friends said it was so good they wanted me to can it and sell it so they could buy it. That was nice to hear!

Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Lemon Pasta

I used this week's awesome asparagus to make this spring-y, bright, and ridiculously easy pasta dish that I saw on Bon Appetit and Smitten Kitchen. This is a great weeknight recipe, as it requires one pot (to cook the pasta and asparagus) and a no-cook sauce.


I used half of a container of the Pipe Dreams goat cheese that I order through Star Hollow Farm, the asparagus from my CSA box, and some tarragon I had growing in a pot on my roof. I think you could use basil as an alternative, if you wanted. I served it with a green salad using the red Cherokee lettuce and hothouse tomato from last week's share. Delicious!

Hi again,

Guess I entered my thoughts as a comment instead of a post. Well, did I know there was a difference???

How about this then:

Produce: We have a number new or limited-time offerings to call your attention to this week...

• Where the wild things are: ramps (last week or two), watercress, lambsquarters, nettles.

• Veggies: Bunched cooking greens (Swiss chard, collards, mixed kale, red Italian dandelion), Asian and braising greens, pea shoots, baby spinach, white scallions.

• Herbs: peppermint is our newest herb offering; today is that last for sage for awhile.

• Other: We have located a new producer of maple syrup, an Amish family over the mountain from us, and have a fresh supply of both light and dark syrup. We got smaller jars so the price would be lower. We also have honey in one-pound jars again.

Your Post Here!

Let us know what you're ordering in your CSA box, and how you are preparing the food. Recipes, photos, ideas, questions - it's all good! If you aren't already signed on, send me an email at smcasto@gmail.com and I'll send you the link to get started.

Wild Ramps & Rhubarb

I'm looking for advice on how to prepare these wild ramps that I added to my CSA box this week. I've never prepared them before, or eaten them before for that matter. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I couldn't resist ordering rhubarb again, but I don't want to make another crisp. Maybe I'll try to make rhubarb chutney (I got the idea from Edible Chesapeake article on Virginia Chutney, see page 9). I'll need to find a recipe, but my main question is: how would you serve rhubarb chutney?

Welcome to the Star Hollow Farm CSA Blog

Want to brag about the rhubarb crisp you made? Wonder how other members have been preparing their asparagus? Are you asking yourself, what is a ramp, and what do I do with it?

Look no further - here is a forum in which members of the Star Hollow CSA can offer each other guidance and inspiration on how to make the most of the bounty that the Treichler family delivers to the market every week. Feel free to post recipes, photos, queries, events - while the focus will be the foods available through the CSA each week, any topic related to seasonal, sustainable, local food is fair game. In addition to helping each other and building community, I hope the Treichlers can get a sense of the enthusiasm and appreciation the members have for the food they produce with such care.

My hope is that this will be a collective effort and many members contribute to the blog. I also hope Randy and Chris will contribute - hearing about the goings-on at the farm is such an important part of really knowing where our food comes from.

If you are interested in posting entries, send me a message and I will add you as an author. You may also participate just by posting comments. Finally, I welcome any and all suggestions for improvement. Thanks for your participation!
Michele Casto